1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for mounting equipment to a support and especially for mounting equipment for crafting and repairing jewelry, or for artistic handwork including engraving. More specifically, the present invention concerns a lockable mount that enables the equipment to be normally removably mounted on the support and selectively locked thereto for a secure mount that generally prevents undesired movement of the equipment relative to the support.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In many applications, a craftsman will desire to mount a piece of equipment to a support, such as a workbench, in order to better utilize the equipment for the selected crafting application. For example, jewelry craftsmen typically mount one of several jewelry crafting attachments to their workbench for performing various jewelry crafting operations therewith. It is often desirable to enable the various attachments to be quickly and easily interchanged on a single, universal mount located at an optimal working position on the bench.
Prior art mounts that enable various attachments to be interchanged on the single mount are known in the art. One such universal mount is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,552, assigned of record to the assignee of the present invention, issued May 17, 1988 and entitled CRAFTSMAN'S JEWELRY SUPPORT TOOL (“Glaser '552 patent”). The mount (38) disclosed in the Glaser '552 patent includes convergent sides that enable a jewelry crafting attachment, such as the articulating frame (14) described therein, fitted with dovetailing shoes (34) to be quickly slid onto the mount (38). The mount (38) of the Glaser '552 patent further enables various crafting attachments to be readily interchanged on the mount by simply sliding the previous attachment off the mount and replacing it with the next attachment fitted with the dovetailing shoes. Such quick interchange is desirable because a jewelry craftsman will often utilize several attachments in a single sitting, such as the articulating frame (14), a bench pin, an engraving block shelf, a solder station, a multi-purpose vise, a saw plate, etc.
However, it has been determined that jewelry craftsmen increasingly are utilizing attachments that enable and require precise and fine positioning of the workpiece wherein virtually any movement of the attachment once the desired positioning of the workpiece is achieved is undesired. For example, such a precision jewelry crafting attachment is disclosed in applicants' contemporaneously filed application for U.S. Letters patent Ser. No. 10/604,659, entitled HOLDER FOR SUPPORTING WORKPIECE IN A FIXED LOCATION PIVOTAL ABOUT DUAL AXES (the “Glaser Contemporaneous Application”), which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as is necessary for a full and complete understanding of the present invention. While the problems identified in the Glaser Contemporaneous Application primarily dealt with undesired movement of the workpiece, it has been determined that many of these same problems are also associated with undesired movement of the attachment relative to the bench.
Prior art mounts are problematic and subject to several undesirable limitations. For example, although some prior art mounts may enable a relatively quick interchange of attachments on a single mount, this quick interchange function undesirably enables the attachment to be readily moved relative to the mount, even if this movement is unintended. Such unintended movement of the attachment relative to the bench is undesirable, particularly during crafting applications that demand extremely precise work within relatively tight spaces on materials that are relatively expensive to replace if mistakes occur. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mount that enables a quick interchange of attachments while also enabling one or more of the attachments to be secured to the bench in such a manner that prevents even the slightest of undesirable movement between the attachment and the bench.